Early Years
Deukmejian was born Courken George Deukmejian, Jr. in Menands, New York to Armenian American parents. His parents were Armenians who immigrated from the Ottoman Empire in the early 1900s. His father, a rug merchant, was born in Gaziantep and his mother was born in Erzurum and worked for Montgomery Ward and later for New York State. Deukmejian graduated a B.A. in Sociology from Siena College in 1949. He then earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from St. John's University in 1952. From 1953 to 1955, he served in the U.S. Army, assigned to the Judge Advocate General's Corps.
Deukmejian moved to California in 1955 where his sister, Anna Ashjian, introduced him to his future wife Gloria Saatjian, whose parents were also immigrants from Armenia. They married in 1957 and have three children: two daughters, born in 1964 and 1969 and one son, born in 1966.
Read more about this topic: George Deukmejian
Famous quotes related to early years:
“Even today . . . experts, usually male, tell women how to be mothers and warn them that they should not have children if they have any intention of leaving their side in their early years. . . . Children don’t need parents’ full-time attendance or attention at any stage of their development. Many people will help take care of their needs, depending on who their parents are and how they chose to fulfill their roles.”
—Stella Chess (20th century)